Prolonged estuarine habitat use by dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus at subtropical latitudes revealed by otolith microchemistry

Endangered Species Research

T. D. Saint’Pierre¹  P. Reis-Santos¹  H. N. Cabral¹  S. E. Tanner¹  J. P. Vieira¹  A. M. Garcia¹  M. V. Condini¹  C. Q. Albuquerque¹ 

关键词: Epinephelidae;    Fish conservation;    Life-history plasticity;    Movement;    Natural tags;    Patos Lagoon;   

DOI  :  10.3354/esr00717

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: Otolith microchemistry (Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca) was used to evaluate habitat use patterns of the endangered dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus in southern Brazil. Individual Sr:Ca profiles exhibited low variation, with an overall tendency to increase with age. Interestingly, individual Ba:Ca profiles presented 3 contrasting patterns: the first comprised most sampled individuals (>80%), mostly indicative of the predominant use of marine waters throughout their life history; the second pattern (~10% of all individuals) indicated that dusky grouper may use or remain in or near estuarine waters for short time periods; finally, the third identified pattern (~5%) comprised individuals remaining in estuarine waters for long periods and provided the first evidence for this species of prolonged estuarine habitat use (over a year), in particular during juvenile life stages.

【 授权许可】

Unknown